Load serving entities (LSEs) such as utilities incentivize curtailment of resource usage during certain high load periods to increase the ability of the LSEs to meet a larger demand or to minimize production costs. For example, in summer months, peak energy usage may occur on hot days in the late afternoon. A utility may offer an incentive to a customer to reduce energy usage in the customer's home during the late afternoon. In response, the customer may avoid doing the dishes, turn down the air-conditioning in the home, or otherwise reduce energy usage. Since a single residence may not consume enough energy to make a large difference in energy consumption, the utility may offer incentives to many customers and an aggregation of resource curtailment at the homes associated with the customers may be enough to reduce consumption for a demand response (DR) event. In this manner, the utility may increase its ability to meet energy demands during the peak energy usage and/or avoid producing or purchasing additional energy to meet the energy demands.
The curtailment in resource usage during peak or high load periods may be referred to generally as demand response (DR). The resource usage curtailment during a specified time period may be referred to as a DR event. DR events generally occur when a utility expects a high demand and asks customers to reduce or curtail resource usage.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.